Census reveals changing face of Stratford

THE NUMBER of Polish nationals who have set up home in Stratford district in the past decade has rocketed.

The Office of National Statistics' 2011 census, published this week, shows the overall population in the district has grown from just over 111,000 people in 2001 to 120,000 – the third highest in the county behind Warwick district and Nuneaton and Bedworth.

And of those, 7,462 people were born outside the UK, with 3,404 having arrived in the last ten years. The biggest increase was in the number of 'other whites' - mainly Polish in search of work - which rose by almost 1,500.

The trend is reflected across the county and nationally. Of Warwickshire's 545,474 people, 62,867 are of ethnic minorities - double the number recorded in 2001.

Of the 87,728 people in Stratford classed as 'economically active' - 58,844 are in work, 2,154 are unemployed and 2,255 are in full-time education.

The average age of a person living in the district is 44 - five years higher than the UK national average.

And women still marginally outnumber men in the district with 61,988 women against 58,497 men.

The census also revealed that in the last ten years, the number of youngsters from Stratford district going to university has risen sharply with 33,396 people now holding the equivalent of a degree qualification against 19,522 in 2001.

The number of people renting their home in Stratford had gone up slightly from just over 20 per cent in 2001 to 25 per cent in 2011 - with 2,212 more people choosing to rent privately. The number of people buying or who own their own home fell slightly and now stands at 73 per cent.

And people in Stratford seem to be losing faith with 25,556 declaring themselves as having no religion in comparison to 13,025 residents a decade ago, although one third of the population - 84,697 people - still consider themselves to be Christian.

Since same-sex partnerships were legalised by the government back in 2005, just 144 civil partnerships have been registered throughout the district.